Show provides laughs and gets you thinking
Absurd Person Singular is on at the Theatre Royal in Bath as part of its National Tour. The classic Alan Ayckbourn play opened on Tuesday (August 31) to a packed theatre and it did not disappoint.
Directed by Michael Cabot and produced by Kathryn Cabot, the 1972 play was still as hilarious today as it would have been when it first came out. Divided into three acts, the play documents the changing fortunes of three married couples.
Each act takes place at a Christmas celebration at one of the couples’ homes on successive Christmas Eves.
The first act takes place in the humble residence of Sidney (Paul Sandys) and Jane Hopcroft (Felicity Houlbrooke).
At this point the couple are clearly not wealthy but keen for social and professional advancement.
Paul Sandys plays Sidney very well, portraying the desperation of the social climber to perfection.
Felicity Houlbrooke’s Jane was excellent and we were left feeling slightly sorry for the woman who had such an inept husband desperate to impress his wealthier friends.
We then head over to the home of
Geoffrey (John Dorney) and Eva Jackson (Helen Keeley) a year later.
This second act is funnier than the first and things are becoming more and more absurd. It starts with poor Eva having a breakdown after Geoffrey says he is off to live with another woman.both actors do a tremendous job with many laughs going around the audience as all the characters fail to spot Eva attempting to kill herself.
It may not sound funny but it is and
the scene descends into chaos.
Finally we head over to the residence of Ronald (Graham O’mara) and Marian (Rosanna Miles) Brewsterwright another year later.
At this point Marian is a full blown alcoholic and Ronald has fallen from his great height in the first act.
The final act is very funny to watch as all of the characters have transformed in one way or another.
Graham O’mara gets across the sardonic nature of Ronald brilliantly as we realise he is now in severe financial distress. Rosanna Miles is very funny playing Marian who is an outrageous character from start to end.
Sidney’s business success means by the third act he has become the power player and the others are left grovelling to him for work.
His innocence has turned into something approaching macabre sadism as he forces them all into an absurd game to round off the show, you get the feeling he likes being in the new position of power.
It is not easy to get across social mobility in all its twists and turns so precisely and so hilariously but the play does it perfectly.
If you are looking for a play that will make you laugh and get you thinking then this is the one for you.